Media, Pundits Hail BlackBerry’s Strong Progress

Besides reporting a $23 million profit, our total cash, cash equivalents, short-term and long-term investments grew 16% ($429 million) to $3.1 billion, up from $2.7 billion at the end of the previous quarter.

Operating expenses have been reduced by 57% year over year and 13% quarter over quarter, making BlackBerry more nimble and better able to respond to changes in the market.

CNET said, “CEO John Chen’s efforts are having a positive effect,” while ZDNet wrote “BlackBerry is in the midst of turning from hardware to services, and the restructuring appears to be fruitful.”

Yahoo Finance: “Chen has laid out a credible game plan for a recovery while removing costs and reducing risk by outsourcing some manufacturing.”

“Chen should be congratulated for accomplishing what Palm was unable to do: transition its business into something sustainable,” said Mashable’s Christina Warren. “Even if that means the resulting company is smaller and more focused, at least BlackBerry is showing signs of staying in business.”

Wall Street analysts are also bullish. On Barrons.com, Evercore analyst Mark McKechie said of BlackBerry, “[The] turnaround efforts have been extraordinary.”

Barron’s also quoted RBC Capital Markets’s Mark Sue, who revised his price target upward by a dollar: “BlackBerry’s making progress in its turnaround and the path to cash-flow break-even looks within reach. Service declines are slowing, handsets are nearly profitable, a new round of hardware is about to be launched, and enterprises are giving BlackBerry a chance.”

About Matt Young

Matt Young is a writer and editor with experience in tech, music, news and entertainment. A current Performance Evangelist for Radware, Matt has previous experience with BlackBerry, and Avaya. He has a degree in Journalism from San Jose State University. Follow Matt on Twitter @techunraveler.

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